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The Daoyin Sitting Exercises

The word Daoyin means to “Guide & Lead” and is a series of exercises that can be practiced from either sitting on the floor or from a chair. The Sitting Guiding & Leading exercises are known as ” Life Nourishing Exercises” (Yang Sheng) as the aim is to strengthen the functioning of the energy ( Qi) and blood ( Xue) to flow freely from the head to the toes to nourish the internal organs and boost our immune system to promote health and well’ being.
There are over forty exercises that involve self massage on the acupuncture meridians and energy points of the face, head, arms, torso, legs and feet. Each exercise is performed a set number of times and are also co-ordinated with deep breathing in a long flowing sequence. They are very easy to learn and can be practiced by anyone of any age, usually the best time to practice these exercises are in the morning, as they are a great way to gently wake the body and set you up to take on the stress and strains of your working day.
The Chinese have been practicing these exercises for thousands of years. They can be practiced on there own individually or in a set sequence, also they can be used alongside other practices like Tai Chi or Qigong. In actual fact there are many Qigong exercises that have added the Guiding & Leading exercises into their forms practice.
A typical Guiding & Leading Daoyin exercise would be for you to rub your both palms together to generate blood and energy flow into your hands. Then place your hands over your face either side of your nose, breathing in as you place your hands on your face, and then wash your face upwards over your head and down behind your ears, breathing out as you massage your face. This exercise helps to freshen your face and improve blood flow, it will also help to release any stress, tension or anxiety. There are fifteen Daoyin exercises performed on the head and face alone as part of the Guiding & Leading Daoyin exercises sequence to help improve blood and energy circulation and to release facial tension, and stress.
Today, still these exercises are being practiced by millions of people around the world to help maintain their health as they slowly grow old.